Just 20 days before the first phase of polling, the Election Commission has released the eighth list of pending voters. On Thursday, the commission announced that out of 60 lakh disputed names, 52 lakh cases have already been resolved. Following the Calcutta High Court’s guidelines, the remaining 8 lakh applications are expected to be processed within the next four days, ensuring the entire verification wrap-up by April 7.

According to a senior official from the CEO’s office, nearly 35% to 40% of the verified names have been struck off the rolls so far. With the first phase of elections scheduled for April 23 and the nomination deadline on April 6, the EC is working at breakneck speed to ‘freeze’ the final voter list. Security for judicial officers involved in this process has been significantly tightened following the recent unrest in Malda’s Kaliachak. Those whose names remain excluded will now have to approach tribunals for redressal, although the operational timeline for these tribunals remains uncertain.